This invention concerns golf ball retrievers adapted to retrieve lost golf balls from water hazards and muddy locations.
There have previously been conceived various such devices, most of which are impractical in situations where the ball attempted to be retrieved is not within view.
There have thus been conceived rake like retrievers intended to alleviate the problems involved in retrieving a golf ball from water and/or mud. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,738,214; 4,635,987; 4,730,859; 3,437,368; 4,411,463; and 4,645,254 for examples of these designs. However, such devices heretofore proposed have either not provided an effective "capture" of the golf ball allowing convenient retrieval or a configuration allowing effective use in mud.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,981 shows a rake like retriever which has rearwardly curved fingers arranged in a fan shape which are intended to capture the golf balls when the fingers encounter the golf ball.
However, it has been found that in use, the tips of the fingers are usually extended upwardly when the handle is held in a natural position, tending to push any ball encountered by the fingers ahead of the device rather than being trapped.
Furthermore, the fingers are long and constructed of relatively thin metal so as to be flexible and are too compliant to be easily forced through mud to retrieve a lost ball.
The present invention has the object of providing a golf ball retriever which is easy to use so as to very effectively capture a golf ball hidden in water and/or mud, which is particularly effective in dragging mud bottoms of ponds and other water hazards.
Another object is to provide such a device which is simple and rugged.